Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-12
TRAINMEN PLAY BANDIT
HUNDREDS OF MEN IN THE
BUSINESS FOR YEARS.


floods stolen Vary From $500. 900 to
s5oO. 900 The Railroad auth oritie q
or Months Uuable to Solve the Mys- :
kerry of the systemized DepredAtiOns
% which Their Cars We're subjected
rwoor Three Hundred Nj en- Already
Under Arrest.
PIrTsBURG, Pa, April 1.-THE most
imnortant arrests ever made In this part
OF the country were begun at an early
hour this morning. They were not COM
pIete until late this evening, and now the
officers of the Pan Handle railroad have
in custody the most daring gang of rail-
road robbers this country has ever
knowp How many members belong to
it are not known, but they run up into
the hundreds. Their steallugs extended
over period of two or three years, and
the amount stolen reaches nearly half a
million dollars. Simultaneous arrests
were made all along the line OF the Pan
Handle road between here and Columbus.
Warrants have been in the hands Of the
officers Tor some time.
RAILRoADERs IMPLICATED.
The persons arrested comprise nearly
the entire freight men OF the line. They
include the conductors, blakemen, engi-
neers and tiremen. The ringleaders of
the gang are outside the railroad busI-
ness. are known and some OF them are
now under arrest. The first arrests were
made about O'Clock this morning, the
police surprising eighteen men at their
boarding-hOuses. They were taken at
once to Jail. Further arrests were made
between O'Clock and daylight, when
forty-siX men, all railroad employees, in
cluding conductors, brakemen, tiremen
and engineers, were behind the bars.
AN OFFICIALS STORY.
In speaking of the arrests a promi-
nent officer of the Pan Handle road
said: "For three years past the Pan
Handle road has been Systematically
robbed. Cars on sidings and cars in
moving trains were broken open and
4 goods stolen, including every description
n Of merchandise. 1t is estimated that at
n least 100000 worth of goods were taken,
tor which the company had to pay. In
q August last we got clue and the COM
& pany determined to push it to the end.
Detectives were employed who followed
up every scent, and finally we had the in
/. formation upon which 10 proceed. When
q everything was ready we had decided to
4 make a move all along the line from
Columbus to Pitts sburg, and two O'Clock
thls morning was fixed to strike the
# blow.
EIGHTY WARRANTS IN PITrsBURG.
about eighty warrants were issued
Tor men in Pittsburg, but / cannot tell
how many tor other places, but at every
point along the line it Will run up in the
hundreds. 1t is the biggest thing of the
a kind that ever happened in Pittsburg or
II IN railroad matters in the-wvrid. for
nothing like il has ever happened before.
s. ! cannot tell who the men are under ar
HI rest, or who the riugleaders are. This
much l Will say, however, we suspect
outsiders OF being implicated in the
* robberies, but know nothing positive.''
ONE MAN UNDER IS CHARGES.
Among the prisoners Is a man named
Baker, against whom there are thirty
m eight charges. Early one morning, some
months ago, at Sheridan, station near
this city, train was stopped for water.
# An attack was made on the crew, and in
81 the tight the fireman was shot. He after
wards died from his injuries. At day
81 break it was found that two cars had
been broken open and their contents
81 stolen. Baker Is accused OF firing the
# shot that killed the fireman, and this is
81 understood TO be one of the thirty-eight
charges against him.
81 BEGINNING OF THE INQUIRY.
John H. Hampton, an attorney for the
fennsylvania Company, was seen this
# morning in the office of the Detective
g Agency, where, sitting amidst a hetero-
Repeous collection OF plunder, he said /:
These robberies have been carried on
M Systematically tor several years. The
company have long been aware that
there was leakage somewhere, ard
as early as September, 1886,
hey quietly commenced an investigation.
A petectlves were placed on trains where
goods could be watched and the thieves
# iaught. We had already discovered that
tue culprlts were employees or the COM
peny' In September there were eighty
HI crews OF freight trains on the Pan Handle
# Iallroad coming into Pittsb bhrg. or these
not less than seyenty-fve were found TO
Fl W crooked. a crew consists OF a con-
uuctor, fagman and two brakemen. IN
some cases ALL the men were involved
snu IN others only part. The statement
Iuat engineers and tiremen were mixed
10 In the robberies is wrong. Not a sin.
eie one is involved.
THE MANNER OF PROCEDURE.
Goods were stolen in various ways,
many instances the seals were broken,
"ulle IN others hatchets were used tocut
uole IN the end OF the car through which
eue men crawled and took what they
81 IeVeo' lhen they reported the car in
eonoltlon, claiming that the hole had
~, iu3ue oy accident. The operations
"a aere all the result OF combination.
IA arrangements were carefully made and
lacn rascal was assigned to his particu-
% %al part OF the work in much the same
way way as bank robbery Is conducted by
to.esslona cracksmen. do not know
ral Ihe mem bers OF the com mbinatiOn
tIe oath-bound or anything OF that Kind,
81, ~ Is certain that thorough under
,bauulng existed among them, and that
m,5! v! acted In concert to cover each others
ulsdOings.
PARTIALITY FOR WHISKY.
-, ,oe thing which alarmed us more than
o"5. ming else was that they stole large
ioaauuues OF whisky aud drank IL in their
la'es' lhey needed vessels TO hold
50 they stole milk cans and kept
u o,n. .nem and managed to keep whisky
f,euE IN tue cars. They tore up tho
ci1s and MD it underneath. Men were
l6o ounually reported drunk on duty, and
G WObaDllity OF disaster was some
kn'dee 'e%iul 10 contemplate. All
rhd, VI goods we're stolen, In
ors u,uE nl.I, sewing machines, guns, revolv-
M oU.Il'lery, silverware, cigars, clothing,
W ey.rr sIoceriesi furniture, and, In TACT
FL ued} imaginable article that can be car.
Fl l.tt,u4 car were quietly removed. The
|& I'M, b,,,o1''ons were committed All along
M ss i'au, ana the losers reside at points
asiaS',. "est es Denver. Fences were